


Reverse

by Septic_wolf



Series: Darkness follows you [8]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Dick doesn't take caution, Help, How do I tag?, I like messing with powers, Immortal!Bruce, Justice meetings are boring, Meta!Bruce, New realm, Tims freaked out, bruce centric, justice league - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28520544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Septic_wolf/pseuds/Septic_wolf
Summary: The shadows are something to be... curious about. Bruce discovers more than what he thought he would that day about his abilities.
Series: Darkness follows you [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908796
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Reverse

“Quadrant 14 is still asking us for some help in an uprising that could lead to a civil war. They’re hoping that we might be there as a third party so that they can discuss issues,” Everyone nodded along with Superman as he went along the agenda of the meeting. Bruce sat still in his chair, taking the information in quickly. “I told them that we would send who we could, considering the fact that we have done several of these types of missions.” Batman nodded.

“Did they request anyone specifically?”

“Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Batman. We can send others instead if any of you can’t, but that is whom they would prefer.” Wonder Woman looked to the brooding bat and was a little shocked at the deeper frown on his face. Superman seemed to see it as well and turned to the man. “Batman, you don’t think you’ll be able to go?”

There was a pause for a moment, Bruce sighed. “I would go if I hadn’t promised my team in Gotham,” Superman coughed, “My sons… I’d promised them that I would not go on any missions or do patrol until the end of the month. Some issues had come up with my - _abilities-_ and they don’t want me to risk more until I’ve had more of a break.” The other members nodded along, and Superman’s soft smile spoke a thousand words.

After the League had learned about his sons, after his death on another world, they had insisted that he get better about mentioning them. Well, Superman had insisted, the others had caught on and were enraptured by the idea of _daddy bats_. Bruce was sure of a file somewhere that held all of these moments. Especially when Dick had come up to the Watchtower with him and they had lunch with Dick making Bruce laugh once or twice. Bruce would deny or refuse to acknowledge the time that Tim had been carried in before a meeting to his quarters because he was sick, and Alfred was away on a trip. Jason refused to go to the watchtower.

_Being immortal really put his life into perspective._

“How has training with your new abilities been going? I know that you had mentioned that you’d started those.” Diana’s curious gaze looked over him, and Bruce wasn’t sure how he would respond to that question. The shadows were a hit or miss. Immediate danger meant that he was absolute without control of them, and that was the most concerning part of it. If a situation with Bane were to occur again, Bruce wasn’t entirely sure that he would be able to stop the shadows from lethally going after one of his rogue’s again. Let alone… If he were to run into the Joker, then he was sure that it was going to end in the clown prince of crime being no more.

“It has been a tedious process.”

Others waited for elaboration, but Superman and Wonder Woman both returned to the topic at hand before the bat had spoken. “Perhaps, then, we will send J’onn. He is Martian and would likely be as impartial as Batman would be if he were present.” The Manhunter nodded in agreement with them, other founders still looking at the Bat.

The Bat in turn raised a brow at them, hands clasped in front of him. “What?”

“Not going to elaborate, Spooky? Tell us how you’re efficiently going through your powers like a meticulous @$$?” Latern’s comment was not without some nodding heads from the others. Bruce shook his head.

“Tedious is the best way to put it. Things go well, and other things will take time to learn. Just as with any sort of training, you should not rush, but work hard to be sure you get the best result.” With that said Bruce shifted himself in his chair, smirking at the widening eyes of the other leaguers around him. Behind him, the shadows expanded, stretched, and Bruce was sure that they morphed into a rather frightening image. “But I would not say that my training has not shown fruit.”

The shadows collapsed onto him, bringing him into the darkness and enveloping him with an almost purring effect. Bruce allowed for the warmth of his shadows to encompass him, protect him, and allow for him to feel them and for them to feel him. When he glanced around Bruce scowled. The darkness hadn’t receded. It was… Encompassing. _Let me loose._ Bruce called to the shadows, but they didn’t answer. They only purred louder.

Bruce stood, looked back to his chair, and saw only a wisp-like image of it. It was… As if he were in an alternate dimension, the shadows were clear, but the object hit by light, they were wisps. Not really there. Bruce glanced to the table. The image of Barry’s mug was wisped, but the shadows of it were clear. He grabbed for the mug, for his hand to only go through it. _Odd._ Bruce reached for the mug's shadow. It emerged with the mug.

The bat blinked in almost shock. - _Return? –_

Bruce felt the voice rather than heard it. _Where?_

Bruce glanced back to his seat. It was slightly moved back, but he returned to the seat. It felt odd as he wasn’t on the whisp, but eventually, he got settled and light returned. Bruce startled as the founding members exclaimed, “BATMAN!” Bruce looked at all of them, some more frazzled than others.

“What happened? Is this something you’ve been training for?” Barry’s face seemed strained like it was what he was hoping Bruce would say. Bruce glanced at his hand, where the mug was settled in his hand. Everyone else’s gaze followed suit. “My… My coffee.” Barry spoke softly as he looked at where it once sat. “I didn’t even notice.”

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Batman spoke, bringing back the attention. “I just, relaxed for a moment with the shadows, and I was… Transported. It was the light reversal of this. Like I was where the shadows walk. Everything that was touched by light was wispy and I couldn’t touch it…” Bruce glanced at the mug again, “Like the light was the shadow instead.”

Silence overcame everyone as they all shared a look. “You just, disappeared, into the shadows like a phantom. And then Supes said he couldn’t hear your heartbeat, and we all were a little frantic.”

J’onn nodded along with Flash’s statement, looking to the moving shadows once more. “We were not sure what was going to become of you should we not look immediately.”

Bruce nodded. “I hope that I was only gone the length of time that-”

“You were hardly gone for a minute at most, but it was a terrifying minute, Bruce.” Clark shook his head, scratching the back of it before grabbing the mug to put it back in front of Barry. “I don’t know how long you think you were in there.”

“I thought I’d been there for about five or six minutes. I walked to grab the mug, I didn’t sprint, and I didn’t return until the shadows… told me I could.” Bruce shook his head. _Told isn’t quite the word to explain it._

“They told you when you could return?”

“More like I felt them telling me when. I don’t know how to explain it.” Bruce held out his hand and the shadows gathered on his palm, shifting and wisping with vigor. Like they wanted to show him again. “The shadows taking me to this _reverse_ realm may help me in some way. I’ll look into it more, but I’ll refrain from abusing it until I know for sure that it’s completely safe.”

“That would be for the best, I think, Batman. New abilities, and no control of when you return, means that it is more a liability than an asset at this time.” Bruce nodded in agreement with the Martian before clasping his hands together again. The shadows nestled between his hands and… purring once again. It was an odd sensation.

“Can you pull a person into this reverse dimension?”

“I don’t know.”

“When you do test that, can I be the first one to try?”

“No, Dick.”

His eldest sighed, kicking out his legs like a child as Bruce brought his hand back out from the shadows. It was a test to see if he could have his hand emerge in another shadow, without risking his whole body. So far, there was no other hand emerging from another shadow. He’d hoped to see his fingers in the shadow of a cup that he’d placed next to him. “How far can you travel?”

“I don’t know, Dick.” Bruce brought his hand back to the shadow and tried again, waiting for the feeling, the presence of the voice, again. When it came, it was the purring, the constant humming of something that was pleased by Bruce trying to go into the shadows. _– return? –_ Bruce held his breath for a moment, grasping into the shadows for another exit, and tried to emerge from the cups. Nothing.

“Hhhhnn.” Bruce pulled his hand from the shadow and glared. “Pointless.”

Dick sat up suddenly. “Is… Do I hear Alfred running?”

Bruce paused a moment. Sure enough, the distinct sound of Alfred’s shoes hitting the ground was present at the opening of the cave. The two shared a look before a winded Alfred, and a wide-eyed Tim emerged. “Master Bruce, I must implore that you stop what you are doing at once.”

“What do you mean, Alfred?”

Tim came forward and held up his phone. Dick leaned forward with Bruce as they observed the screen. From the shadow of Tim’s coffee mug… was Bruce’s hand. Grasping for something and receding back into the darkness. Dick cried in victory, dancing up and down as Bruce took the phone to watch the video over again. He’d succeeded in a way…

“It was rather surprising.” Tim’s voice was quiet, but he could tell that he was intrigued by the idea. What this ability might mean. “If your hand can travel from here to the kitchen…” Bruce glanced at Tim’s eyes, now looking to the Batmobile. “Imagine if you could take the Batmobile through the shadows… How much faster you would be to getting to crime scenes and how you could dodge bullets and…” Tim shook with some excitement that was starting to rival Dick’s own, “Imagine how this could change your death totals from this last month? You could avoid falling by dropping into the shadows.” Bruce blinked and grinned.

“This could truly change the way Batman works forever in Gotham.” 

**Author's Note:**

> The family was wonderful to be around, and I hope you all had a great holiday season. Happy 2021! I wish you the best this year, and hope and pray for you all as it goes further along. :) 
> 
> Kudos if you liked it.  
> Comment if you loved it.  
> I love hearing back from you guys! 
> 
> Hope to write again for you soon! 
> 
> I'm in the works of another little short story that is DC but not this same storyline. Subscribe to be notified of its release!


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